Nouns and gender

Every Spanish noun has a grammatical gender: masculine or feminine. Unlike German, there's no neuter, and unlike French, Spanish gender is fairly predictable from word endings. This is one of the first concepts to master, as it affects articles, adjectives, pronouns, and agreement throughout the language.

The two genders

Spanish uses "el" for masculine nouns and "la" for feminine nouns. The good news: most nouns ending in -o are masculine, and most ending in -a are feminine. This pattern holds about 90% of the time, making Spanish gender easier than French:

Gender	Definite article	Example
Masculine	el	el libro (the book)
Feminine	la	la casa (the house)

Grammatical gender often has nothing to do with natural gender:

• la mesa (the table) is feminine
• el vestido (the dress) is masculine
• el problema (the problem) is masculine

Predicting gender

Spanish gender is more predictable than German. These patterns cover most cases:

Masculine patterns

Nouns are usually masculine (el) if they:

Pattern	Examples
End in -o	el libro, el vaso, el cielo
Refer to male people/animals	el padre (father), el gato (male cat)
End in -or	el color, el amor, el valor
End in -aje	el viaje (trip), el mensaje (message)
End in -ma (Greek origin)	el problema, el tema, el sistema
Are days of the week	el lunes, el martes
Are languages	el español, el inglés
Are rivers, mountains, seas	el Amazonas, el Everest

Feminine patterns

Nouns are usually feminine (la) if they:

Pattern	Examples
End in -a	la casa, la mesa, la palabra
Refer to female people/animals	la madre (mother), la gata (female cat)
End in -ción / -sión	la nación, la televisión, la canción
End in -dad / -tad	la ciudad, la verdad, la libertad
End in -tud	la actitud, la juventud
End in -umbre	la costumbre, la cumbre
End in -ie	la serie, la superficie

Common exceptions

Some important nouns break the patterns:

Feminine nouns ending in -o:

• la mano (hand)
• la radio (radio)
• la foto (photo — short for fotografía)
• la moto (motorcycle — short for motocicleta)

Masculine nouns ending in -a:

• el día (day)
• el mapa (map)
• el planeta (planet)
• el sofá (sofa)
• el yoga
• Words ending in -ma (Greek origin): el problema, el tema, el programa, el sistema, el clima

Nouns that can be either:

• el/la artista (artist)
• el/la estudiante (student)
• el/la periodista (journalist)
• el/la turista (tourist)

Plural forms

Forming plurals is straightforward:

Singular ending	Plural rule	Example
Vowel	Add -s	libro → libros, casa → casas
Consonant	Add -es	ciudad → ciudades, papel → papeles
-z	Change to -ces	luz → luces, vez → veces
Accented vowel	Add -s or -es	café → cafés, rubí → rubíes

Plural articles

Singular	Plural
el	los
la	las
un	unos
una	unas

Examples:

• el libro → los libros
• la casa → las casas
• un amigo → unos amigos
• una amiga → unas amigas

Indefinite articles

The indefinite articles ("a/an") also reflect gender:

Gender	Singular	Plural
Masculine	un	unos (some)
Feminine	una	unas (some)

Examples:

• un libro — a book
• una mesa — a table
• unos libros — some books
• unas mesas — some tables

Article usage

Spanish uses articles differently from English. You'll use "el/la" in many situations where English would use no article at all. Understanding these patterns prevents common mistakes and makes your Spanish sound more natural:

When to use the definite article

Spanish uses el/la more often than English uses "the":

Use with:

• Abstract nouns: El amor es importante. (Love is important.)
• General categories: Me gustan los perros. (I like dogs.)
• Languages (usually): Hablo el español. (I speak Spanish.)
• Days of the week: El lunes tengo clase. (On Monday I have class.)
• Titles with third person: El señor García está aquí. (Mr García is here.)
• Body parts and clothing: Me lavo las manos. (I wash my hands.)

Don't use with:

• Titles in direct address: Buenos días, señor García.
• Indefinite quantities: Necesito agua. (I need water.)
• After ser with professions: Soy profesor. (I'm a teacher.)

Contractions

Two contractions are mandatory:

• a + el = al: Voy al mercado. (I'm going to the market.)
• de + el = del: El libro del profesor. (The teacher's book.)

These don't apply to la, los, or las.

Agreement

Adjectives must agree with nouns in gender and number:

Noun	Adjective	Meaning
el libro rojo	red (m. sing.)	the red book
la casa roja	red (f. sing.)	the red house
los libros rojos	red (m. pl.)	the red books
las casas rojas	red (f. pl.)	the red houses

Adjective patterns

Adjective type	Masculine	Feminine
Ends in -o	alto	alta
Ends in consonant	fácil	fácil
Ends in -e	grande	grande
Nationality in consonant	español	española
Ends in -dor/-tor	trabajador	trabajadora

Common nouns by category

People

Spanish	Gender	English
el hombre	m	man
la mujer	f	woman
el niño / la niña	m/f	child (boy/girl)
el amigo / la amiga	m/f	friend
la familia	f	family
los padres	m	parents
el hermano / la hermana	m/f	sibling

Things

Spanish	Gender	English
la casa	f	house
el apartamento	m	apartment
la mesa	f	table
la silla	f	chair
la cama	f	bed
la puerta	f	door
la ventana	f	window
el libro	m	book

Abstract concepts

Spanish	Gender	English
el tiempo	m	time / weather
la vida	f	life
el amor	m	love
el trabajo	m	work
el dinero	m	money
la lengua / el idioma	f/m	language
la idea	f	idea
el problema	m	problem

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